Latest news with #MarianMatthews
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill would have New Mexico join interstate compact to ease doctor shortage
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Whether it's struggling to find a doctor or having to wait months to see one, lawmakers are considering a handful of bills aiming to ease the healthcare professional shortage in New Mexico. Story continues below DWI Scandal: Another BCSO deputy placed on leave in connection to DWI dismissals Entertainment: Visit these 10 iconic film locations in New Mexico Events: What's happening around New Mexico March 14-20 'We have lost 8.5% percent of our doctors in the last four years and as a result, it is common and not unusual for people when they need to see a doctor, to be told they need to wait six months,' said Rep. Marian Matthews (D-Albuquerque). After a high-profile bill aiming to lower insurance caps to bring more doctors to New Mexico failed to move forward in the Roundhouse, another bill aimed at addressing the state's doctor shortage is in the spotlight on Monday. Following its unanimous passage in the house, on Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee discussed House Bill 243. If passed, New Mexico would join an interstate compact, making it easier for doctors licensed in other states to get licensed in New Mexico to treat patients here, even via telehealth. One committee member shared the story of how it would help her friend who has a son with a rare form of cancer. 'The only way that he could contact a doctor, well let's be honest, it was part of a compact or he has to drive to Texas,' said Sen. Micaelita Debbie O'Malley (D-Albuquerque). 'That's very difficult on his family. It's costly and it's stressful. So, I would hope that there's something we could do.' 43 states and the District of Columbia are part of this compact. The committee had a long list of amendments, most of which seemed okay to the compact representative except for at least two. One of those is the committee's wish to amend the provision in the bill saying the compact commission would develop rules. 'This is the language that says any rule we make as a compact has the force of law in your state,' said Sen. Katy Duhigg (D-Albuquerque), who brought many of the requested amendments forward. The other requested amendment the compact commission representative said might be an issue was the line in the bill that grants employees of the interstate commission immunity from lawsuits. 'The purpose of that is to make sure that those state employees or medicine within the State of New Mexico or any other of the member states who are acting in good faith, will have qualified immunity from lawsuits unless they are violating the good faith requirement or acting in a malicious or intentional way to hurt someone,' said Rick Masters, general counsel for the interstate licensing compact commission. 'To eliminate immunity for anybody who is working as an agent or employee for the state of New Mexico would be, first of all, exposing those people but I'm thinking that would also be the case with the rest of the commission if some licensee decides to file some lawsuit because they claim their license wasn't properly handled.' The committee ran out of time and rolled the bill, meaning the possible amendments will be discussed further before any action. The Senate also has its own version of this bill, SB 46, which is still making its way through the Roundhouse. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reformed version of Paid Family and Medical Leave Act moves forward
Feb. 19—SANTA FE — A significantly reworked Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, with lower premiums and less paid time off for medical purposes, is on its way to the House floor after passing a committee on Wednesday where it died two years ago. If it passes the floor, House Bill 11 will likely wind up on the governor's desk. After a four-hour debate, the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee voted 6-5 to move the legislation along. Rep. Marian Matthews, D-Albuquerque, joined committee Republicans in voting against the bill. Under the revised bill, businesses and employees would no longer be taxed to pay for parental leave; rather, the state's Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) would front the cost. Employers with five or more workers and employees would still pay into a wellness fund for medical or sexual harassment safety leave, with employers paying a 0.15% premium — $1.50 for every $1,000 earned — and employees paying a 0.2% premium — $2 for every $1,000 earned. The committee substitute bill also reduces the amount of paid leave for bereavement, foster, medical, exigency or safety purposes to six weeks rather than nine weeks. Parents could still get up to 12 weeks of paid time off with a $3,000 monthly benefit per child from the separate ECECD fund. The state would start assessing premiums on employees and employers in 2027, and workers could start taking paid leave in 2028. "There's an old saying that you know it's a compromise when everyone's a little bit unhappy," said bill sponsor Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe, speaking to the two main changes in the bill decreasing the amount of medical time off and lowering premium rates by 0.55%. Thirteen other states and Washington, D.C., offer paid family and medical leave, but House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, noted in a news conference before the committee meeting that this approach would be unique to New Mexico. "It's a win-win," Martínez said. "It's a win for the families, it's a win for the workers, it's a win for the babies and it's a win for the small business community." The changes to HB11 didn't sway Republicans or business leaders who have stood in steady opposition to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, many of whom voiced concerns about having to fill workforce gaps. Minority Floor Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, still labeled the bill as burdensome and called it the "largest health tax increase" in New Mexico's history. "The more taxes that we implement and the more mandates that we put on employers and employees take away the ability for employers to help make those decisions as a group, with the people that they care about that are doing a fantastic job," she said. Democrats have been working on the bill's changes for the past couple of weeks, signaling a reason the legislation hasn't moved at all since passing its first committee in January. It now has about a month to pass the House floor, then the Senate. The bill has made it through the Senate side twice in past years, always dying on the House side. The legislation failed to pass the House chamber by two votes last year, and three Democrats who voted against the bill all lost their seats in the 2024 election cycle. Matthews pointed out in her closing remarks that she won her election despite voting against the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act last year, when she also proposed her own narrower version of the bill that died. The committee tabled an amendment she introduced largely aimed at exempting caregiving employers from having to pay the premium, an industry for which Matthews has said she's particularly concerned. "I will remain a 'no' vote on this until and unless we start to treat these people (well)," she said after the vote. Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, earlier this week told the Journal the proposal, if it makes it to the Senate, could pass with unanimous Democratic support in the chamber. But she also said she decided not to file a Senate bill on the subject this year, after passing the bill through the chamber the last two years. "I got tired of being the straw man," Stewart said. It's now up to Martínez when to schedule the bill to be heard on the House floor.
